Editorial: At stake is freedom of the media

The Income Tax Department’s “survey” in the Delhi and Mumbai offices of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will certainly be seen as a tactic of intimidation that will not show the government in a good light. The need for the “survey”, which is almost akin to a raid, has not been explained, more so in these days when the government has access to all banking transactions. That the BBC has been indulging in “transfer pricing” and “diversion of profit” seems to suggest that it is a financial company out for a kill. For all that one knows, it is a public broadcaster with limited financial stake in India, one of the countries where it has a presence. And it has been present in India ever since it grew into a major broadcaster of the world.

Whatever be the government's claim, the “survey” under which even journalists were “interrogated” cannot but be linked with the recent controversy over the BBC documentary, ‘India: the Modi question’, which critically examined the riots in Gujarat in 2002, even giving the views of the ruling party. It was a compilation of facts, figures and statements, leaving it to viewers to reach their own conclusions. The aggrieved parties could have come out with their own version of events; but far from it, the government gave the impression that the heavens had fallen as a result of the documentary. Even before the second part of the documentary was released, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry ordered online media platforms to disable links to the first part, under rules which should not have been invoked at all. It also ordered blocking of all tweets that had links to the documentary. Such a hyperactive reaction was totally unwarranted and only raised doubts about the government’s own credibility.

It is against this backdrop that people in general have reservations about the IT survey. Nobody argues that if the BBC violated Indian tax laws it should be let off simply because it is a multinational broadcaster with enormous clout. However, there are established ways in which its transgressions, if any, could have been dealt with. Allowing a large number of tax officials to descend upon its offices and conducting a raid-like survey for two days was surely unacceptable.

It is not the first time that government agencies like the CBI, the IT Department and the Enforcement Directorate have been used to pressurise media organisations which had either critically examined government policies or exposed some wrong-doing. Organisations like NDTV, NewsClick, the Dainik Bhaskar Group of Publications and the organisation that funds the Centre for Policy Research have over the last few years experienced the high-handedness of such agencies. What the BBC has been undergoing is a similar kind of experience. Perhaps the government wants to proclaim that it can get even with any organisation that embarrasses it, even if it is by way of espousing the truth.

A few years ago, the BBC did a documentary on the Uighars of the Xinjiang province of China, which was not to the liking of the government there. The broadcaster was condemned for what it did. However, there is a fundamental difference between India and China. While it is a dictatorial regime that rules China, India on the other hand takes pride in the fact that it is the largest democracy in the world. A nation cannot be considered democratic if it does not have a vibrant media that can critique the government. The media serves the purpose of a watchdog and if it is bridled, it will cease to be a democracy. India gets respect the world over because it is democratic and has an open society. Any attempt to suppress the freedom of the media will be detrimental to the long-term interests of the nation.

Published on: Friday, February 17, 2023, 06:00 AM IST